Hello. We have a Christmas Market barge tour booked for December 2019. It begins in Basel, Switzerland and goes to Strasbourg, France then to the following towns in Germany; Breisach, Speyer, Rudesheim and Cologne. Our age ranges age 57-69 and we do not ski. Do you have any ideas as to what we should see/do with a few additional days? No flights are booked. Just looking for ideas pre and post cruise.
Thanks!
Basel is a pretty city with an interesting old town. You could spend at least a day just wondering around. The Basel tourism website has some interesting walks. About an hour from Basel is Luzern. You could spend three days there walking around the river, bridges and old town. It is situated on a lake in the mountains. You could take a trip or two to the top of one of the mountains for great views. Bern is close to Luzern with an interesting old town, clock tower, water fountains and a wonderful history museum with an extensive exhibit on Einstein.
Definately Basel + Luzern.
I see you are going in December. Basel has a nice Christmas Market. Read this Trip Report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/christmas-markets-with-kids
More info on Basel, plus hotels, on the city tourist website: https://www.basel.com/en
Wrap up warm as it will be cold on the river in December.